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European Union NEEDS it’s own military to thwart terror threats, German minister claims

THE European Union needs to develop a military wing to confront looming security threats, the German defence minister has said.

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Earlier this month, Donald Trump, said NATO had failed to prevent terrorist attacks on US and EU soil and was therefore “obsolete”, sparking fears that the President would withdraw America from the intergovernmental military alliance.

Mrs Von der Leyen shrugged off Mr Trump’s comments, but admitted the European Unionhad to step up its game by modernising its military defence to match NATO’s.

She said: “The EU needs a new defence policy. As Europeans, we must take greater responsibility for our security, but in order to do so, we must remain confident. We must, however, strengthen EU defence cooperation in a manner that is complementary with NATO.”

But Mrs Von der Leyen said NATO is not just about defence.

She added: “It’s a military and political alliance based on common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

Mrs Von der Leyen added that, in light of the current political turmoil, these common values were “more important now than ever before” and that it was time to “move from words to action”.